‘Death to the Jews’ Chants Heard at Berlin Pro-Palestinian Rally
Berlin police are investigating a pro-Palestinian rally where demonstrators allegedly chanted “Death to the Jews” and “Death to Israel,” phrases that if verified could be criminal offenses under Germany’s strict post-World War II hate speech laws, JTA.org reported.
Hundreds of people showed up in the Kreuzberg and Neukölln neighborhoods on April 8 at a rally organized in response to the police clashes with Muslim worshipers at the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In video captured by a watchdog called Democ, many were shown praising the Qassem Brigades armed branch of Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip and is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union.
Some additionally chanted “Tel Aviv, the answer will come.”
In the aftermath, authorities have launched investigations into incitement of hate and have been scouring videos of the event. Iris Spranger, the Berlin city government’s interior senator, condemned the antisemitic statements in a tweet on April 10, writing, “Hate has no place in our society.”
“The rule of law must be applied consistently,” said Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, in remarks to the Jewish community newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine.
Jewish Basketball Star Abby Meyers Selected in 1st Round of WNBA Draft
Abby Meyers, a Maccabiah Games gold medalist and former University of Maryland basketball star, was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Wings in the first round of the WNBA Draft on April 10, JTA.org reported.
Meyers, who was involved with Jewish life on campus, helped her squad make the Elite 8 at this year’s NCAA tournament. She averaged 14.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game during the regular season.
Meyers said last month that she felt supported by Jewish Maryland fans.
“There’s an amazing following of Jewish students who come to my games, who support me and love the fact that I’m Jewish,” she said.
The Washington, D.C., native also led Maccabi USA to a gold medal last summer.
“I see myself as a female Jewish athlete, and I think it really came to fruition this past summer when I went to the Maccabiah Games in Israel and was able to play alongside so many amazing, talented Jewish athletes from all over the world,” Meyers said. “That was different for me because I’ve never been around so many Jewish athletes before.”
Yad Vashem Denounces Poland’s Demanded Additions to Israeli Student Trips as ‘Inappropriate’
When Israel and Poland agreed to resume Israeli youth trips to Polish Holocaust sites last month, their agreement stipulated that new sites be added to the students’ itineraries, including some that document Nazi crimes against non-Jewish Poles, JTA.org reported.
Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and history authority, is now calling those additions “inappropriate” and “problematic.”
In statements to Haaretz published on April 10, leading historians condemned the development, arguing that the new trip rules advance what they call Poland’s track record of obscuring its Holocaust record.
The new list of required sites for students to see is “dubious at best and controversial at worst,” said Havi Dreifuss, a Tel Aviv University history professor affiliated with Yad Vashem. She added that some of the sites “ignore documented aspects of Poles’ involvement in the murder of Jews,” or even “glorify Poles who were involved up to their necks in the murder of Jews.”
